Inside the Heart of Long-Term Care: Ashlea Ondrusek on Purpose & Growth

Executive leader Ashlea Ondrusek (Avir Health Group) explains how her team scaled rapidly across Texas while protecting the essentials: patient dignity, staff culture, and measurable outcomes. We cover higher-acuity care in SNFs (in-house dialysis, vent units, NP coverage), PDPM adoption and documentation, survey/regulatory readiness with a former state surveyor on staff, and why THCA unity is accelerating positive change statewide. Ashlea also shares practical playbooks for recruiting during a nursing shortage, preventing leadership burnout, and celebrating wins so teams want to stay and grow. She closes with an inspiring personal purpose statement.

Topics: culture-first growth, PDPM, survey strategy, THCA unity, recruitment & retention, special focus turnarounds, staff appreciation, burnout prevention, patient outcomes.

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Texas Long-Term Care at a Crossroads

THCA President & CEO Travis Clardy joins us at THCA’s 75th convention to break down the state of Texas long-term care: funding progress (PDPM, QIPP), a troubling rise in Immediate Jeopardy citations despite improving quality metrics, the day-to-day realities of HHSC/CMS oversight, and the urgent need to recruit and retain a bigger, better-prepared workforce. We also dig into due-process wins in ADR/appeals, why a single, unified industry voice matters, and how operators can prepare for the coming “silver tsunami.”

Highlights

• THCA’s renewed energy and what’s different in year 75
• IJ trends vs. quality data: reconciling the gap
• ADR/appeals reform and protecting fair outcomes
• Where Texas Medicaid rates now stand—and why it matters
• Practical workforce pipelines and training strategies
• Coordinating advocacy to speak with one voice across Texas

Guest: Travis Clardy, President & CEO, Texas Health Care Association (THCA)

Welcome to Our Purpose – The LTC Podcast, where the people behind skilled nursing and long-term care share their stories. In this episode, hosts Kip Kruger, James Dieter, and Chris Light open up about the real challenges inside the industry—stress, staffing, patient outcomes, culture shifts, and the day-to-day details that make the difference.

From handwashing and wound care to navigating Medicaid cuts and staffing struggles, we explore how small actions, leadership, and collaboration can transform patient experiences. This is the start of a bigger conversation—a movement to shine light on the incredible people and solutions driving change in long-term care.

If you’re an administrator, caregiver, policy maker, or family member wanting to understand the heart of LTC, this episode is for you.